AuthorTopic: Ann Arbor tips for new comers??? (Read 7809 times)

katfife

I am moving to Ann Arbor here shortly to start Ave Maria and have never been to Michigan before. (I'm moving from California) Do any Michigan natives have any tips for a new-bee?? Other than ditch the flip-flops and bring the ski parka (all of my friends think I'm nuts to move somewhere so cold ) Any tips on where to/not to live, grand places to check out or general info would be totally appreciated!!Thanks!!

You are going to *love* Ann Arbor. Easily one of the best cities in America. Two tips: Eat at Zingerman's (even the NY Times calls it America's best deli) and go to UMS concerts. (see ums.org). Also (okay, this is a third tip), save lots of money to pay for parking tickets.

I have a little Nissan pickup, and I had to put sandbags in my bed one day to get to school. I was just spinning the tires on the snow. It was the morning of my contracts final. I think as long as you have some weight over your drive wheels, you will be able to get around just fine. You need to get a snow scraper for the winter, some gloves, a rain coat, and a warm hat. It gets really cold in the middle of winter, really cold!

The most important thing to purchase is an artificial orb, or globe, to light up your room during the 6-month-long winters. As the sun rarely makes an appearance, you need something to tell you when it's daytime and keep you from getting depressed. (Another remedy is to buy a clock that tells jokes.) In winter, living in Ann Arbor is analogous to living in a cave, only the cave is very big and you can drive around.

The cold in the wintertime is dangerous, so it's best to stay inside. If you must venture out, wear two or three coats and put heated bricks in all the pockets. You can make your own heated bricks with regular bricks: just heat them in boiling water for five minutes and put them in your pockets with tongs. They'll help keep you warm, and the extra weight is good for traction. Note: don't warm the bricks in the microwave; they explode.

Finally, if you don't have a pair you'll need to get some snowshoes. Last winter a few students tried to walk to school in regular snow boots and sank in the ten-foot snow like it was quicksand. Fortunately there were other students on hand to fish them out. (They tied backpacks together and made a sort of rope.)

Good luck!

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